3D-printed nanocellulose hydrogels eyed for construction infill

In the United Kingdom and Sweden, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the Wallenberg Wood Science Centre claim a 3D printed, wood-based hydrogel could be used to construction homes.

Already used in medicine, nanocellulose hydrogels are lightweight, making it a potential infill material for things such as window screens.

The Chalmers-Wallenberg collaboration is the first attempt at 3D printing “on a larger scale and for architectural applications,” Malgorzata A. Zboinska, an associate professor at Chalmers University of Technology, told Euronews Next. “The material has been 3D printed before as very tiny objects, within the biomedical industry research. But this is the first time that we have applied it to architecture.”

The material included alginate to make the nanocellulose flexible. “The hydrogel has a property that makes it not flow when it’s being 3D-printed, so it doesn’t liquefy, it stays in its shape exactly how we want it to be,” said Zboinska.